1958-1960 Ford Thunderbird - The Square Bird

by the late 1950s the US auto industry was on a high styling was reaching a new apex where cars were no longer just cars but works of art chrome wasn't just something that was added to a car but it was showered onto cars with no restraint Ford was also caught in the moment there was a rising star Ford whose name was Robert McNamara in November 1960 he became the president of Ford Motor Company but a few weeks later he would make history when he became JFK's Secretary of Defense it was this job that McNamara will forever be remembered for he would step down from the position in early 1968 during the height of the infamous Vietnam War which he bore some of the blame for escalating most people are unaware that McNamara's legacy at Ford lives on today McNamara was one of the first automotive executives who studied trends and released cars to fuel these trends McNamara understood what buyers wanted before they did for instance the 1961 Lincoln Continental 1964 Falcon in 1958 Ford Thunderbird we're all revolutionary and very successful cars all made it to production due to McNamara's insistence and his great ability at predicting future trends when the two-seater 1955 Ford Thunderbird became an overnight success for continued the streak through the 1957 model year sales steadily increased to 20 1380 units for 1957 for McNamara this wasn't enough after careful study he realized that adding a backseat to the Thunderbird would broaden its appeal thereby substantially increased sales this move would forever make McNamara a dirty word among two-seater Thunderbird purists but it caused sales to nearly double overnight production from the 1958 Thunderbird was 37,000 892 units the 1958 t-bird had beautiful news square is styling which was a foreshadow of the cars to come in the 1960s yet it still had the rear fins and other styling cues that customers wanted in the late 1950s but they were understated compared to many other cars of this era the 1958 t-bird was spared no luxury or convenience option so many of these beautiful cars were loaded with options the t-bird was more luxurious than the other forms of this error the t-bird in reality would have been a better fit in the Lincoln car lineup however that would have detracted for the master plan of bringing customers and for dealerships which the t-bird certainly did the t-bird was Ford's flagship car it was a car of distinction and of class those that owned one couldn't imagine holding another car those that didn't wanted to own one though a large majority of 1958 t-birds were hardtop coupes there was a convertible model also available the t-bird was also sporting with it being only available with two doors and a hood scoop which is something that many muscle cars went later on half there was decent muscle under the t-birds hood it came standard with the 300 horsepower 352 cubic inch v8 which had a four-barrel carburetor and was standard with dual exhaust two transmissions were available a column shift three-speed manual which could be equipped with overdrive as an option and a column shift three-speed automatic transmission unlike the previous year t-bird the 1958 had gained a lot of weight the hardtop coupe weighed in at a hefty three thousand seven hundred and eight pounds and the convertible was three thousand nine hundred and three pounds which was a thousand pounds heavier than the 1957 t-bird the 1958 t-bird had a state-of-the-art unibody construction and a sophisticated suspension which had coil springs in all four corners the t-bird was a sin in the brand-new Wixom Michigan assembly plant alongside Lincoln models the interior of 1958 t-bird was far ahead of its time most cars of its error had flat front and rear bench seats not the t-bird it had comfortable front bucket seats and stylish rear seats both were contoured to provide occupants the ultimate in comfort and gave the t-birds interior a futuristic look the overall look of the interior was that of a sporty luxury car the stylish Dash and center console would have pleased even the most fussy socialite back in the day the dashboard littered with round gauges was well ahead of its time additionally even the power window switches were located in the center console which is something many sports cars would later copy the 1959 t-bird would be a virtual carryover from 1958 only the front grille and a few very slight ornamentation changes were made it proved to be a smart move said sales went through the roof 67,000 four hundred and fifty sixty Birds were produced for 1959 the 352 v8 and all transmission choices carried over from 1958 the big news for 1959 was the addition of Lincoln's 430 cubic inch v8 to the t-birds option list the 430 v8 earned the heavy t-bird into a quick accelerating car for its day the 430 v8 was only available with the three-speed automatic transmission and dual exhausts it was rated at 350 horsepower which back in 1959 was a lot of horsepower for not wanting to mess with a good thing left the Thunderbird alone for 1960 everything from the previous year including transmission choices engine choices and overall design carried over the only changes were a new front grille and very slight ornamentation changes just like 1958 and 59 a convertible option was available the big change for 1960 was the addition of a retractable sunroof option a sunroof was a new idea back in 1960 today is a very popular option 1960 would prove to be a banner year for t-bird production ninety-two thousand eight hundred and forty three units were produced this production figure would not be surpassed until the t-birds 1977 model year the big advantage of the 1958 to 1960 t-bird was that it had no competitors it had created and was the only occupant in the personal luxury car segment the t-bird with a backseat wouldn't get a competitor until 1962 when Pontiac released the two-door Grand Prix ironically the personal luxury car segment that the t-bird had created became one of the most popular car segments in the 1970s for 1961 Ford would go with a space-age sleek aerodynamic design for the t-bird this solidify the 1958 to 1960 t-birds nickname of being the square bird because it's square shape would forever define the second-generation t-bird though Ford lost its two-seater in 1958 McNamara did make a wise move with the addition of a backseat to the Thunderbird the 1958 to 1960 Thunderbird is the perfect type piece of his error it offered true luxury beautiful styling and a lot of class to middle America it's a true American success story

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Keywords: Thunderbird, Ford, T-Bird, square bird, squarebird, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 430 V8, 352 V8, Lincoln, Mercury, Sun Roof, Mustang, Robert McNamara, Henry Ford II

Id: hWHl93A4vGc

Length: 8min 49sec (529 seconds)

Published: Thu Jan 26 2017